Sharp VLNZ50U MiniDV Compact Digital Viewcam with 3" Color LCD Screen

Lens
With an optical zoom magnification of 10x, the VL-NZ50 also has a digital zoom--which works by electronically enhancing the optical image--that can magnify the picture up to 300 times. The digital image stabilization system keeps the picture steady and solid throughout zooms and camera shakes.

Other Features
With its 270-degree variable angle, you can hold the VL-NZ50 in a variety of angles to record over people and objects or film close to the ground. You can even record yourself by rotating the view screen 180 degrees.

The built-in speaker allows on-the-spot playback with sound for checking and viewing video footage anywhere. An on-screen recording guide helps you line up landscape footage and can be used as a guide for easy framing of subject matter. The backlight compensation feature corrects exposure in poor lighting conditions.

The VL-NZ50 also features several digital effects (black and white, sepia, NEG) that can be viewed without affecting the original recording.

Inputs and Outputs
The VL-NZ50 comes with the standard DV IEEE 1394 port (also known as FireWire; Sharp refers to this connection as iLink) for a super-fast, lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines.

MiniDV Format
MiniDV digital technology delivers clear, sharp video with over 500 lines of horizontal resolution--far superior to the 240 lines of resolution offered by 8mm camcorders. You'll also get minimal color noise interference for a more stable picture.

The camera also features excellent sound quality, recorded in either 12-bit or 16-bit audio recording modes.

• 16-bit audio includes one set of stereo audio tracks to produce CD-quality sound.
• 12-bit audio utilizes two sets of audio tracks so you can easily add background music or commentary into your videos while maintaining the existing soundtrack.

This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of two full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.

Contents
This package comes with the VL-NZ50 camcorder, one rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, tripod adapter, remote control (and batteries), AV dubbing cables, wrist strap, and lens cap.

Product Description
The VL-NZ50 is a perfect entry-level digital camcorder with an iLink PC interface and full on-screen information. The on-screen displays for battery level and amount of tape remaining allow the operator to devote full attention to filming without the distraction of monitoring battery strength and time remaining on the tape. The 10x optical lens provides the best picture quality and the digital 300x zoom allows images to be captured at distance. Digital Image Stabilization compensates for image shake when a tripod is not used improving the quality of the video. I-Link digital port serves to transfer full motion video and sound to a PC equipped with an I-Link port for video editing on a PC. The built-in speaker allows on-the-spot playback with sound for checking and for viewing video footage anywhere. Both gain up and backlight compensation correct the exposure in poor lighting conditions to easily capture the best picture possible. An on screen recording guide helps the user line-up landscape footage and can be used as a guide for the safe zone or center of lens for easy framing of subject matter. Digital Picture Effects allow different digital effects (B&W, Sepia, NEG) to be viewed without affecting the original recording and to your video a custom edited look.

The biggest swaying factor was the two-hands operation. As any expert consumer-camcorder user can tell you, no optical/digital image stabilization can compensate for the "fumbling" you get at high zoom factors when shooting one-handedly. The so-called "one-hand" cameras aren't really one-handed if you want a clean shoot when you have to make do without a tripod, since you'll be applying your second hand to the left/under side of the camera for added support. Having used various other MiniDV cameras (Sony HandyCams, JVC's, and Canon's), I discovered that it was easier to use a product that is originally designed for 2-handed operation. I've used the camera for a while now, and I am very satisfied with the stability of the video I get, even while zooming and walking simultaneously.

This product does have a "Still" function, however, no way to save it to any removable or internal memory, so if you want to copy them over to a computer, you would have to import it via Firewire after it is recorded to tape. Even at that, the DV-25 format restricts the picture to a low-enough quality that they're not work keeping.

A hint to people considering getting a camera with still functions: get an[inexpensive] 640x480 camera ... from [a local store] - this will do the job better than the still functions on most consumer-grade DV camcorders; if budget allows, a decent 2MP+ camera would allow you to take printable photos.

As a sidenote, looking on Sharp-USA's site, I couldn't find the CCD pixel count, but I have found some indication on the Internet that this camera has a 420K CCD. This is fine for a DV-25 camera, but this also means that digital zoom obviously gets blocky and distorted easily.

Note to the person with the I.Link issue: I.Link is Sony's trademark for a 4-pin IEEE 1394 (Firewire) port. If you want to use your VAIO with this camera, what you would need is just any 4-pin to 4-pin Firewire cable, and use the DVGate software to import the video. Otherwise, if you have a Macintosh or a 6-pin Firewire port, you should get a 4-pin to 6-pin cable. I have tried it with both Mac OS X and Windows XP so far and both results have been very pleasing.

The only down-side I can bring up is the lack of remote, need for an extra cylindrical tripod-attachment as provided (can't use the lock-in pin on the detachable attachment if you have the batteries installed on certain tripods), somewhat [inexpensive] construction (plastic looks flimsy in part), and non-intuitive manual focus (have to open up menu - 4 keypresses, and use buttons to focus instead of any kind of sliders). Of course, this is a very inexpensive camera and consumer-grade at that; finding manual rotary focal lens controls would almost be rare.

All-in-all, the price makes up for what it doesn't have, and I find that this camera does everything I need to do for both semi-professional and home-consumer usage.


Excellent Value and Design - Not only for starters -   September 19, 2002
H. G. GARZA (TX)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

Cheap does not mean bad. After an extensive review, I chose this camera because it provides the best value for the money, and it has the key elements what you should look in a new camera:
Format: MiniDV
Very compact and stylish, in order to be able to carry it to Disneyland or Six Flags and go to all attractions without problem (it fits in a regular camera case), Standard 10X Optical Zoom.
Backlight and record buttons are very handy, which make the camera easy to operate.
I gave it 4 stars because a major drawback: You can not convert your Old VHS videos to MiniDV, instead you have to borrow a camera from a friend or buy a firewire card for your PC with analog inputs.
USB Streaming included on the model NZ100 simply does not worth the price difference, because for less than that money you can buy the firewire card for the PC. The only input available is from another camcorder via firewire cable, in order to make digital copies of your MiniDV Videos.
The NZ50 although has a very nice standard features, like the 270 rotating lens, Effects like sepia, BW, widescreen mode and audio dubbing, that other cameras that cost a few bucks more do not have.
For me it is not important to capture low resolution still images in a camcorder (although this camera can, but it is in tape), color viewfinder (it is supposed that you buy a camera with LCD in order to use it) and other built-in features, because for the money saved buying this cheap camera, you can buy an extra battery (Energizer 730: money), a Firewire card with cable (Adaptec 4300: money), a tripod (money) and a good 2 Mega pixel Camera (not even the money dollar digital camcorders have that resolution, and you can have one good 2 mega pixel camera for less than money), and have a complete good solution for the actual digital era without expending too much.


Spec typo   May 23, 2002
12 out of 16 found this review helpful

I haven't used the NZ50U, but be aware that the ... spec given above is wrong. The camera has a 10X optical zoom, not 26X. Also, a black version, the NZ55U, is due out in June.

I will say that I had excellent luck with the Sharp NZ10U. While I found it awkward to hold with one hand (my index and middle fingers covered the microphone and lens), its sound and image quality were quite good. The NZ50/55 appears to have the same basic construction.


Nice Camera for the Money   December 13, 2002
9 out of 11 found this review helpful

After waiting a year for the price of digital camcorders to come down, I finally decided to jump in and purchased this Sharp. I was originally drawn to this camcorder by the price. And even though it doesn't offer any "bells and whistles", it's still priced at least ($$$) less than a comparably equiped competitor. So far, it's performed well for me. It makes good-looking home movies with great sound, and that is all I was basically looking for. I'm more into ease-of-use and convienience rather than knobs, buttons, and gadgets. One of the camcorder's greatest features is the compact size. It's only slightly larger than my digital camera and I can carry it with me anywhere in my jacket pocket. One of the reasons I always dreaded taking my old 8mm camcorder with me is becuase it was like dragging a suitcase around. Oh, and one other thing. Before owning this camcorder, I never understood the rationale for a "two-handed" model...Now, I'll never go back. I'm anxious to see how it performs when transferring movies to a DVD burner, but now I'm waiting for the price of those to come down!


Everything fine - until it stopped working   December 10, 2002
Arild Drivdal (Cambridge, MA United States)
8 out of 11 found this review helpful

I was actually quite happy with this camcorder for the first 3 months that I had it. Then one day (of course after the 90 day warranty on labor provided by Sharp) the thing stopped working, probably having short-circuited somehow. Sharp, it appears, has only two service outlets in the whole country which charge a minimum of [$$$] for labor plus shipping etc. Needless to say, as long as the product quality is as low as it appears, it might soon become an expensive experience. I DO NOT recommend this product to other customers.